Toy with automatic boos



March 25, 1952 R. N. CARVER ETAL TOY WITH AUTOMATIC DOOR 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed March 9, 1949 322, gz z/ 53/2 Azrrop/t/Fza.

March 25, 1952 R. N. CARVER ETAL 2,590,508

TOY WITH AUTOMATIC DOOR Filed March 9, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 A TTOIQ/VEKTSI Patented Mar. 25, 1 952 TGY WITH AUTGMATEC DOOR Richard N. Carver and Raymond J. Lohr, Erie, Pa., assignors to Louis Marx & Company, Inc., New York, N. 5. a corporation of New York Application March 9, 1949, Serial No. 80,345

7 Claims.

This invention relates to toys, especially toys resemblin a building for receiving a moving toy, as, for example, a garage for receiving a toy vehicle, or a barn for receiving a toy animal.

The primary object of the present invention isto provide such a toy building with a door which opens automatically on being touched by an approaching toy seeking entry. Other objects are to provide automatic door mechanism which is simple, inexpensive to manufacture, and dependable in operation. Another object is to provide automatic door mechanism which is devoid of delicate or unstable latch mechanism, and which does not require an approach ramp which must be depressed by the weight of the approaching vehicle. Indeed, with the present toy it is not essential even to have a floor or bottom on the toy building.

To accomplish the foregoing general objects, and other more specific objects which will hereinafter appear, our invention resides in the toy building and automatic door elements, and their relation one to another, as are hereinafter more particularly described in the following specification. The specification is accompanied by drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a toy garage embodying features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same showing a vehicle seeking entry;

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the door open 5 I with the vehicle inside the building; r

Fig. 4 is a transverse section drawn to enlarged scale and taken approximately in the plane of the line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section taken approxiniately in the plane of the line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a section taken approximately in the plane of the line 6--5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. '7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 but showing successive positions of the door as it opens; and

Figs. 8 through 12 are schematic diagrams explanatory of the operation of the automatic door and showing a number of modified arrangements which help explain the underlying principle of the invention.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to Fig. l, the toy there shown comprises a building 33 having a door D which is normally closed, but which is arranged to be automatically opened on approach of a vehicle or other moving toy seeking entry. Thus in Fig. 2 a toy vehicle V has just reached the door of building B, following which the door flies upward to the open position shown at D in Fig. 3, while the toy V continues its movement into the building B without apparent interruption.

Considering the arrangement in greater detail, and referring now to Fig. S-of the drawing, the door comprises an upper panel [2 and a lower panel Hi. The upper panel is hinged to the building at it, this hinge being referred to herein: after as the door hinge. The lower panel I4 is hinged to the upper panel 12 at 88, this hinge being referred to hereinafter as the panel hinge.

The lower portion of panel it is provided with guide means 26. In the present case this conor slots. Preferably two such slots are provided, one at each side of the door, and one of these is best shown in Fig. 5, in which it will be seen that some of the material of the front wall 22 of the building is folded inwardly at the sides. of the door opening, as is indicated at 24, this material being perforated at 26 to receive the pin of the door hinge previously referred to, and being slotted at 8 to form guideways for the lower panel.

Reverting now to Fig. 6, the lower panel I4 is preferably of greater vertical width than the upper panel 12. However, the guide pins 28 are displaced downwardly from panel hinge l8 an amount substantially equal to the vertical distance between the door hinge l6 and the panel hinge I8. Thus the excess vertical width of the x lower panel it is located beneath the guide pins as. It is this lowermost portion of the lower panel that is engaged by the moving toy approaching the garage, and if desired, a part of the panel may be bent outwardly to form a protuberance it of suitable height and dimension to be engaged by the bumper of the vehicle toy.

Now in accordance with the present invention, the door is provided with a pull spring 32, the lower end of which is connected to the lower panel It, for example, at the guide pin 20, and the upper end of which is connected to a suitable part of the toy building, here indicated at M. This spring-is normally stretched or tensioned so that it tends to contract and so to fold the door upward to the widely open position shown in Figs. 3 and 7 of the drawing.

Reverting to Fig. 6, it will be seen that the panel hinge 18 of the door 52, M is so arranged that the door can fold outward, that is, the panel hinge is can move outward, as shown in Fig. 7, but cannot move inward because of the provision of stop means to prevent inward movement. In the present case the stop means consists of the part 36 of the upper panel and the part 38 of the lower panel which abut. Now when the door is closed, as shown in Fig. 6, the line of force of the spring is such as to prevent upward folding or opening of the door, it being outside the panel hinge [8. However, although the parts are in stable equilibrium, the panel hinge I8 is olfset only slightly from the line of force of the spring, and is readily moved from its position inside the line of force to a position outside the line of force, whereupon the spring is free to pull the door open. On further inspection of Fig. 6 it will be appreciated that a slight push on the Part 30 of the door moves the same inward slightly about the guide pin as a pivot. This causes the panel hinge l8 to move outward slightly, until panel hinge I8 comes outside the line of force of the spring, whereupon the spring pulls the door through the broken line position D in Fig. 7 to the solid line position D in Figs. 3 and 7. To again close the door it is merely necessary to push the upper panel [2 downwardly, or to pull the projection of the lower panel l4 downwardly, until the door reaches closed position, whereupon it remains safely in closed position unless and until the lowermost portion of panel I4, that is, the portion beneath the guide pin 20, is pushed inwardly, whereupon the door again flies open.

Considering the arrangement in greater detail, the door hinge I6 may be a round rod extending all the way from one side of the door to the other, as is best shown in Fig. 4. The side edges of the upper panel 12 of the door are folded inwardly, as indicated at 40, and perforated to receive the rod IS. The side edges of the door opening are folded inwardly and perforated at 26 (Fig. 5) to receive the rod. The ends of the rod may be pinched or swaged, as is indicated at 42 (Fig. 4), thereby holding the rod against longitudinal movement.

The guide means preferably consist of a generally similar rod 20 extending across the width of the door from one side to the other. The side edges of the lower panel M of the door are folded inwardly as is indicated at 44, and are perforated to receive the rod 20. The stationary sides 24 of the door opening are slotted, as is indicated at 28 in Fig. 5, to receive the ends of the rod 20. Thus the ends of the rod act as two widely spaced guide pins movable in the guide slots. The ends of the rod 20 may be pinched or swaged, as indicated at 46 (Fig. 4), to hold the same against axial movement.

The panel hinge is preferably consists of two separate eyelets at the side edges of the door. It is preferred not to use a rod at this point, for when using a single spring 32 between the side edges of the door, as here shown, such a rod would interfere with the spring during opening of the door. It will be understood, however, that by using two pull springs, one at each side of the door (operating, for example, on the projecting ends 46 of the rod 20), it would be feasible to employ a rod for the panel hinge 18. In Fig. 4 it will be noted that the folded side edges and 44 of the door may be displaced inward slightly at the eyelets [8, so that the outer ends of the eyelets clear the door opening.

The theory of the invention may be further explained with reference to Figs. 8 through 12 of the drawing. Referring first to Fig. 8, the door hinge is symbolized at 50, the panel hinge at 52, the guide for the lower panel at 54, and the spring at 56. In this case the panel hinge 52 is offset inwardly from a line connecting the door hinge and the guide pin 54. The line of force of spring 56 extends from guide pin 54 upward between the panel hinge 52 and the door hinge 50. The hinge and abutment action of the door is such that the door can fold outwardly, but not inwardly. Since spring 56 is attempting to turn the'lower panel clockwise and the upper panel counter-clockwise, the door remains closed. However, when an opening force is applied to the portion of the door beneath guide pin 54, as indicated at 58, the panel hinge 52 is moved to the same side of spring 56 as the door hinge 59, whereupon the spring pulls the lower panel in counter-clockwise direction and the upper panel in clockwise direction, and the door flies open.

It is not essential to connect the pull spring 56 to the guide pin 54, and Fig. 9 indicates a slight modification which is numbered the same as Fig. 8, but in which the spring 56' is connected to the bottom edge of the door instead of to the guide pin '54. Note that here again the line of force of the spring comes between the panel hinge 52 and the door hinge 50, and that the spring urges the door past dead center in locking direction, so that the door cannot open. However, a slight movement at 53 causes the panel hinge 52 to move outside the line of force of spring 56', whereupon the door flies upward to open position.

In order to accomplish the desired result it is convenient, but not altogether essential, to offset the panel hinge from the door hinge, and a modification which illustrates that fact is shown in Fig. 10. In this case the panel hinge 62 is on a line extending between the door hinge 6i, and the guide pin 64. The lower end of spring 66 I is anchored to the lower panel of the door, and

the upper end is anchored to the overhanging or outer portion of the roof of the building. As before, the stop action of the door thickness permits the door to fold upward with the panel hinge 62 moving outward, but not inward. Now the line of force of the spring 66 is so directed as to lie outside the panel hinge 52. Thus it tends normally to keep the door closed. However, a slight inward movement at 68 displaces the panel hinge 62 to a point outside the line of force of spring 66, whereupon the spring pulls the door open. Ofr-course, in this case there may be interference between the opening movement of the door and the spring, which may be overcome by locating the spring at the side edge of the door, or by using two springs, one outside each side edge of the door, if symmetry be desired, or by vertically slotting the central portion of the door to clear a single spring located at the center oi the door.

In Fig. 10 it will be observed that while the spring 66 is disposed outside the panel hinge 62, it does not extend between the panel hinge S2 and the door hinge 60. Reverting now to Figs. 8 and 9, it is obviously convenient and desirable to locate the spring 56 within the door hinge 58 first, because there is no interference with the door as it opens, and second, because the spring is then concealed, thus giving the toy a less obvious and more mysterious action, so that it may be sold under a name such as Magic Garage. However, it will be understood that in theory themore important requirement for spring 56 is that it be located outside the panel hinge 52. If the spring is located outside both the panel hinge 52 and the door hinge 50, it would be desirable to vertically slot the door to clear the spring, or to employ two springs, one outside each side of the door, as was mentioned in connection with Fig. 10.

As so far described, the door has folded outward, and the lower panel has been made of greater height than the upper panel, so that its lowermost portion opens by movement inward. Such an arrangement is not essential, however, as will be seen by reference to Fig. 11. In this construction the door hinge is symbolized at I0, the panel hinge at 12, the guide pin at ,M, and the spring at 16.

guide pin 14, and consequently the door will open by folding inwardly, that is, with the panel hinge I2 moving inward, rather than outward. In this case the upper and lower panels are preferably ;of equal height. The line of force of spring '16 extends inside the panel hinge I2, and morespecifically, between the panel hinge i2 and the door hinge Hi. It will be evident that the spring tends normally to keep the door in closed ';position, but that upon directing an inward for e at 18 the panel hinge 12 is displaced toward the, right slightly until it comes inside the line of force, whereupon the spring pulls the door sharply upward to fully open position. In this case'the folded door is disposed within the building. instead of outside the building.

The modification of Fig. 12 is related to Fig. 11 much as Fig, 10 was related to Fig. 8, that is, it

shows that it is not essential to offset the panel .20 of force of the spring between the panel hinge In Fig. 12 the door hinge J hinge, and it is not essential to dispose the line and the door hinge. is symbolized at 80, the panel hinge at 82, the guide pin;,a:t--84, and the spring at 86. The line of force ofjthe spring extends inside the panel hinge 82 and therefore tends to hold the door in closedcondition. However, an inward or opening force at 88 displaces the panel hinge- E2 slightly toward the right until it comes in-" side the line of force of spring 85, whereupon the door is'pulled sharply upward. In this case, as in Fig. to avoid interference between the door and the spring, the door may be vertically slotted to clear the spring, or a pair of springs may be employed, one outside each of the side edges of the door.

It wil1-= be'understood that schematic Figs. 8

through liars not to scale, and that the angle. of the spring has, in general, been exaggerated to clarify' the theory. The displacement needed.

to bring the panel hinge from one side of the spring to the other may be made very slight, for I a sensitive response, or may be increased, forwe have'f-shown and described the invention in 4 a number of preferred forms, additional changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, as sought to be defined inthe following} claims.

W e claim;

1. A tqy building comprising a door including an upper-g anel hinged at its top edge, a lower panel hinged to the upper panel by means of a panel hinge}, said lower panel being wider vertically thansaid upper panel, a guide pin forsaid lower panel, at a point displaced downwardly from thejp'anel hinge an amount equal to the distance between the door hinge and the panel hinge, stop means to prevent folding of the-door with the panel hinge moving inward but permitting folding of the door with the panel hinge moving outward, said panel hinge being offset inwardly; from a line between the door hinge and theguide pin, a pull spring connected at its lower 'en'd to the lower panel and having a movement of the portion of the lower panel beneath the guide pin displaces the panel hinge outward to the same side of the line of force as the door hinge, whereupon the spring pulls the door panels upward to fully open'position, the portion of the lower panel beneaththe guide pin being provided with an outwardly projecting bumper protuberance of appropriate height to be engaged by a toy vehicle approaching the door for entry.

2. A toy building comprising a door including an upper panel hinged at its top edge, a lower panel hinged to the upper panel by means of a panel hinge, said panel hinge consisting of two spaced pivots at the side edges of the door, said lower panel being wider vertically than said upper panel, guide pins for; said lower panel at a point displaced downwardly from the panel hinge an amount equal to the distance between the door hinge and the panel hinge, said guide pins being formed at the ends of arod extending across the width of the door. stop means to prevent folding of the door with the panel hinge moving inward but permitting folding of the door with the panel hinge moving outward, said panel hinge being offset inwardly from a line between the door hinge and the guide pin, a pull spring connected at its lower end to the aforesaid rod and having a line of force extending upwardly between the panel hinge and the door hinge whereby the door remains closed, said arrangement constituting the sole means for keeping the door closed, the arrangement being such that a slight inward movement of the portion of the lower panel beneath the guide pin displaces the panel hinge outward to the same side of the line of force as the door hinge, whereupon the spring pulls the door panels upward to fully open position, the wall of the toy being folded inward at the side edges of the door and being vertically slotted to form guides receiving the ends of the aforesaid rod, and the portion of the lower panel beneath the rod being provided with an outwardly projecting bumper prot berance of appropriate height to be engaged by a toy vehicle approachin; the door for entry.

3. A toy building having a door arranged to fly open instantly on being touched by an approaching toy vehicle and thereby permitting the vehicle to proceed uninterruptedly. into the toy building, said door comprising an upper panel with a door hinge at the top, a lower panel connected to the upper panel by means of a panel hinge, stop means to prevent folding of the doors upwardly by movement of the panel hinge in one direction, said stop means being effective in only one direction so that the doors will fold upwardly in opposite direction, guide means for the lower portion of the lower panel, said panel hinge being offset from a line connecting the guide means and the door hinge, and a pull spring extending upwardly from the lower panel and tensioned so strongly as to pull the door open sharply, the line of force of said spring coming between the panel hinge and the door hinge whereby said door remains closed, said arrangement constituting the sole means to keep the door closed, the arrangement being such, that when touched by an approaching toy vehicle the resulting slight inward movement of the lower panel shifts the panel hinge to a point. on the same side of the line of force as the door, hinge, whereupon the spring instantly pulls the door fully open and permits entry of the vehicle.

4. A toy building comprising a door arranged to fly openinstantly on being touched by an approaching toy vehicle and thereby permitting the vehicle to proceed uninterruptedly into the toy building, said door including an upper panel hinged at its top edge, a lower panel hinged to the upper panel by means of a panel hinge, said lower panel being wider vertically than said upper panel, a guide pin for said lower panel at a point displaced downwardly from the panel hinge an amount equal to the distance between the door hinge and the panel hinge, stop means to prevent folding of the door with the panel hinge moving inward but permitting folding of the door with the panel hinge moving outward, a relatively strongly tensioned pull spring connected at its lower end to the lower panel and having a line of force extending upwardly inside the door but outside the panel hinge whereby the door re mains closed, said arran ement constituting the sole means to keep the door closed, the arrangement being such that when touched by an approaching toy vehicle the resulting slight inward movement of the portion of the lower panel beneath the guide pin displaces the panel hinge outside the line of force of the spring, whereupon the spring instantly pulls the door panels upward to fully open position and permits entry of the vehicle.

5. A toy building comprising a door arranged to fiy open instantly on being touched by an approaching toy vehicle and thereby permitting the vehicle to proceed uninterruptedly into the toy building, said door including an upper panel hinged at its top edge, a lower panel hinged to the upper panel by means of a panel hinge, said panel hinge consisting of two spaced pivots at the side edges of the door, said lower panel being wider vertically than said upper panel, guide pins for said lower panel at a point displaced downwardly from the panel hinge an amount equal to the distance between the door hinge and the panel hinge, said guide pins being formed at the ends of a rod extending across the width of the door, the wall of the toy being folded inward at the side edges of the door and being vertically slotted to form guides receiving the guide pins, stop means to prevent folding of the door with the panel hinge moving inward but permitting folding of the door with the panel hinge moving outward, said panel hinge being ofiset inwardly from a line between the door hinge and the guide pins, a relatively strongly tensioned pull spring connected at its lower end to the aforesaid rod and having a line of force extending upwardly between the panel h nge and the door hinge, whereby the door remains closed, said arrangement constituting the sole means to keep the door closed, the arrangement being such'that when touched by an ap proaching toy vehicle the resulting slight inward movement of the portion of the lower panel beneath the guide pin displaces the panel hinge outward to the same Side of the line of force as the door hinge, whereupon the spring instantly pulls the door panels upward to fully open position and permits entry of the vehicle.

3. A toy building having a door arranged to fly open instantly on being touched by an approaching toy vehicle and thereby permitting the vehicle to proceed uninterruptedly into the toy building, said door comprising an upper panel with a door hinge at the top, a lower panel con.- nected to the upper panel by means of apanel hinge the axis of which is displaced away from the door, guide means for the lower portion of the lower panel, a strongly over-balanced spring connected to the lower panel and tensioned to pull the same sharply upwardly in order to open the door, the line of force of said spring coming between the door and the panel hinge axis, and stop means to prevent foldingof the door by movement of the adjacent parts of the panels toward the spring, said stop means being effective in only one direction so that the door can fold by movement of the adjacent parts of the panels away from the spring, the aforesaid arrangement resulting in the spring tending to keep the door closed unless anduntil it is partiallyopened, said arrangement constituting the sole means to'keep the .door closed,and partial opening of the door when touched by an approaching toy vehicle serving to move the hinge axis to the same side of the spring as the door panels, whereupon the spring instantly pulls the door fully open and permits entry of the vehicle.

7. A toy building having a door arranged to fly open instantly on being touched by an approaching toy vehicle and thereby permitting the vehicle to proceed uninterruptedly into the toy building, said door comprising an upper panel with a door hinge at the top, a lower panel connected to the upper panel by means of a panel ha e the axis of which is displaced away from the door, guide means for the lower portion of the lower pan l, a strongly over-balanced spring connected. to the lower panel and tensioned to pull the same sharply upwardly in order to open the door, the line of force of said spring coming between the door and the panel hinge axis, and stop means to prevent folding of the door by movement of the adjacent parts of the panels toward the spring, said stop means being eiTective in only one direction so that the door can fold by movement of the adjacent parts of the panels away from the spring, the aforesaid arrangement resulting in the spring tending to keep the door closed unless and until it is partially opened, said arrangement constituting the sole means to keep the door closed, and partial opening of the door when touched by an approaching toy vehicle serving to move the hinge axis to the side of the spring as the door panels, whereupon the spring instantly pulls the door fully open and permits entry of the vehicle, said spring being on the inside of the door, said panels moving outwardly relative to the building, and said lower panel having a rigid downward extension which is struck by the toy vehicle and which moves inwardly as the door opens.

RICHARD N. CARVER. RAYMOND J. LOHR.

REFERENCES (JITED The following references are of record in the file or this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,804,829 Farr May 5, 1931 2,036,802 Fleishman et a1. Apr. 7, 1936 2,092,523 Post- Sept. 7, 1937 2,334,749 Burr Nov. 23, 1943 

